The Druidic College

Reflections -- Death

“After your death you will be what you were before your birth.” -- Arthur Schopenhauer

In the Celtic Cycle, dark always comes before light; ergo ‘death’ must precede what we refer to as ‘life.’ How did our ancestors perceive death? Do we continue this perception or have changes in the way we live altered it? As Druids, albeit modern ones, we should have a communal conception of death, yet as individuals we also have our personal perspective. Let us consider what we can agree on as common, and share how we differ.

Reflections

“After your death you will be what you were before your birth.” -- Arthur Schopenhauer

In the Celtic Cycle, dark always comes before light; ergo ‘death’ must precede what we refer to as ‘life.’ How did our ancestors perceive death? Do we continue this perception or have changes in the way we live altered it? As Druids, albeit modern ones, we should have a communal conception of death, yet as individuals we also have our personal perspective. Let us consider what we can agree on as common, and share how we differ. Remember there is no right or wrong opinion.

The season of Alban Elued, the beginning of autumn, has always been a season of magic for me.
The balance of dark and light evokes the eternal play between seasons, the two halves of the world, one courting spring, one flirting with autumn. Seeing both in combination as a simultaneous sensual overlay is like seeing the delicate and joy-filled balance between our world and the Otherworld, as well.

It is in this context that I appreciate the power and preciousness of magic and what a profound gift it is to the fallible and questing human.

Summer’s blaze singes spring’s tender leaves. Beneath the summer skies the season is changing. The air is crisp with fresh cool breeze. Red berries ripen weighing on branches. Sweet and ripe upon the vine, Ancient fruits of wisdom turn to wine.

Summer rays fade as cobwebs gather. Autumn leaves change.

“These days people seek knowledge, not wisdom. Knowledge is of the past, wisdom is of the future.” - Vernon Cooper
Druids aspire to associate themselves with wisdom above any of the many other desirable attributes. Our very appellation implies we have, or at least are capable of channeling, the wisdom of the oak. But how do we define and measure “wisdom?” What are the necessary composites of “wisdom?” Is it ingrained or learned?

Some questions are down right near impossible to answer! What is your favourite colour? Is not each colour for a different use? Would a green Sun and an Orange ocean be more appealing? And you favourite food? Porridge for dinner, kippers for breakfast? Why not?

So defining a “favourite” tree can be a bit befuddling. Each tree has great worth. Each proffers us diverse offerings: the hazel, wisdom; the willow, emotion; the hawthorn, protection.

For the curious: we don't have separate URLs by author of our bardic sharing, but please feel free to rummage. The work in here (by everyone) is one of my most cherished pieces of this work. Bright Blessings, Arvanna Redmantle

A friend posted on her blog recently about her ambivalence toward the Second Life cyberspace community. (Second Life lets you construct the person you might wish you were in real life and roleplay their story online.)

She notes that pouring one’s energy into creating a fictional alter ego in this way distracts from making needed self-transformations in the “first” life.

Reflections

“It is difficult to say who do you the most harm: enemies with the worst intentions or friends with the best.”
Edward George, Earl Lytton

Traditional blood ties are random and at best happenstance. Whether we love, like or can even tolerate our blood relatives is as much a matter of chance as hitting even a small jackpot at the local casino. It can be done but …!

We often refer to the pagan or druidic ‘family’ when we speak of the macrocosm of those with similar beliefs as our own.

As I sit here in your splendid silence, your sacred spirit surrounds me, I feel your presence with every breath that I take. I feel your essence in the very center of my being. I become aware of all the beauty and resplendent journeys that await me on my travels to be joined as one with you. I can’t wait to feel the loving warmth of your breath on my face To hear the whisper in my ear of the secrets that you behold. I feel the trees in their new beginnings of life. I feel the water around my knees.